Apprentice
by ninjapoke
Summary: No one lives forever and the Gotham Rogues have realized this. But does their eventual demise have to mean the end of their legacies? The Joker doesn't think so. So what happens when Gotham's most wanted get Apprentices? Cowritten with QuetheStitchBear.
1. Introduction!

**hey all of you wonderful people of ! This story has been on my mind for a while and I finally got to writing it.. but oh no, it isnt just the lovably insane Ninjapoke writing _this _story, but also the wonderfully psychotic Quegalfreshbreath! That's right ladies and freaks, part one will be here under my name, and part two will be under quegal. Well, on to the story! **

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><p>Introduction<p>

Hey their ladies and gents, Joker here!

Today I'm going to tell you a story, it's a true story, but a good story about the Gotham Rouges and the one and only ME!

Ok, let's face it. We are all getting old, not that I mind, I can't wait to be senile! The only down side is that the older we get, the harder it is to have fun with dear old Batsy! Tragic, I know. But, you see, Batman had the right idea.

Now I know what you are thinking, "Joker you handsome man, since when has Batman had any ideas that you didn't think of first? Aren't you his superior?" Well flattery will get you nowhere you twit.

But his fantastic idea was the Boy Blunder! That's right! Little baby Roby was Batman's greatest idea ever! I mean sure I killed one of them but that is beside the point. The real point is that Batman has an apprentice, a mini-me so to speak. So now when Bats is old and grey, little Robin will be there to carry out his 'legacy'… if I don't kill him too.

Now the Rouges and I have finally realized how good idea that his is so that one day, Robin can fight Mini-Joker and Mini-Harley. Now enjoy this story folks, cuz this is what happens when villains get sidekicks!

Love your Uncle J.

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><p><strong>yes i am aware of how pitifully short that was, which is why I am posting chapter one as well. I would put them together, but it seems to fit better this way. Reviews are greatly appreciated, and so is criticism, but we prefer no flames... All you need is love and all that jazz. Oh and for those of you who read Blood and Diamond (quegalfreshbreath) or Raggedy Ann (me) i can speak for myself (and probably Que too) when i say that they will continue but updates might be a bit slower, (meaning instead of every three days, it might take up to a week ect.) <strong>


	2. The Clown's Bright Idea

**Ok, as promised, i give you Chapter One! I will also try to promise that there will no longer be any chapters that were a short as the last. **

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><p>Chapter 1<p>

Four villains sat at a circular table at an otherwise abandon Iceberg Lounge. The Joker had made it clear to them all, in one way or another, that he wanted to meet them their on that day at 10 'O clock pm, sharp. Now he was late.

The participants in tonight's meeting were the Riddler, Poison Ivy, the Mad Hatter, and the Scarecrow. Each one of them had been threatened, black mailed, well you name it, to get them to come to this meeting. As much as most people despised the clown, no one wanted to get on his bad side.

"Good _evening _gent-tal-men. Ivy." They heard the familiar voice of the clown. "I'm delighted to see that you could all make it!"

"Like we had a choice!" Poison Ivy barked. Joker had threatened to blow up a national park in her honor if she didn't come, killing all the plants there along with it.

"Now, now _Red, _I called this little get together to help us all!" Joker sat down and propped his feet up on the table.

"Get to the point, Clown." Spoke the tired voice of Jonathan Crane. "There is something in my basement that requires my attention."

"Yes, Jonathan, we all know about your experiments. Who is it this time?" Edward Nygma sighed.

Scarecrow waved his hand in the air to show how unimportant it was. "Woman, 53, five foot two, quite an interesting phobia, Anthropophobia. It's the fear of flowers."

Joker clapped his hands. "Lovely, Spooky! Now, on to business! I have a brilliant idea that I think will benefit all of us!"

"Sharing a brilliant idea? That's hardly like you Joker." The Riddler remarked.

"Well, to be truthful…" Joker looked around the room as if checking to see if anyone was listening. "I stole the idea from Batman!"

Everyone at the table eyes widened. "Madness!" Jarvis called out quietly.

"What idea would you possibly want to steal from him?" Ivy asked.

"Elementary my dear Watson! I want a sidekick! An apprentice, a child to continue my legacy!"

"You want a kid?" Edward blinked. "And you are telling us this why?"

"Because I think we should all have kids! Think of all the possibilities! We won't stay young forever, and when the time to kick the bucket finally comes, we will have our own Mini-Me's to keep up our brilliant work!"

"I hate to admit it, but the Joker is making sense!" Edward gasped. For a show of dramatics, the Mad Hatter put a hand over his mouth and gasped.

"What's your plan?" Ivy said skeptically.

"Simple! We go into Gotham General, the most corrupt school in Gotham, go under cover so we can take a look at the kiddies and pick one!" Joker made an animated motion of picking an invisible something of a tree.

"Mistah J! I got em!" They heard Harley's accent call as she walked through the door.

"Good girl!" Joker patted her on the head and took her files. "Now let's see. A math sub… here ya go Eddie! Hatter you get creative writing. Johnny-Boy! You can take school councilor! Relive your days as a physiatrist. Now let's see here… Ivy you can get life science. Oh, Harley! How did you know I always wanted to be a janitor?"

"I figured it would be easier for you to see the kiddies that way, Puddin'" Harley said.

"Good job." He briefly congratulated. "Ok, boys and girls, here are the rules! Ya look around for kids that ya think will be good to do what you do best." He explained.

"Out of curiosity, what did you do to the teachers we are replacing?" Jarvis asked.

"Oh yeah, that reminds me, Johnny-boy I got a present for you and Scary. Follow me!" The Joker led them to a big van out on the street. They opened the back to five people tied up and gagged.

"I'm betting you're wondering what teachers fear!" The Joker laughed manically and Scarecrow soon joined. They knew he was in on the plan now.

"Joker, who says I agree to this?" Ivy asked.

"Red, you get to take a girl and make her just like you!" Harley squealed. "She can love plants and be strong willed, and not like men!"

"Harley I don't know…" Ivy didn't snap at the girl but turned her voice into a slightly nicer tone.

"Come on Red, what's the worst that could happen? If you get one then that's one more person fighting for the planet. One more person to take care for your plants!"

"Fine, I'll do it!" She caved in.

"Great!" Joker called out. "Now what about you two?" He turned to the Riddler and the Mad Hatter.

"I would love to find a smart Alice to come with me to Wonderland." Jarvis answered.

"I'm assuming that means ya-es!" Joker sung.

Edward shrugged. "With the way the worlds heading, I need to find someone to keep Gotham on their toes before their minds turn to mush."

"Good! See you all on Monday!" Joker called before getting in the car with Scarecrow to go drop off the people at his lair.

"What have we gotten ourselves into?" Edward said to himself.

"Quite a predicament." Jarvis answered before going his own way home.

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><p><strong>As i said, all of your favorite villains, and for those of you who didn't see your own obscure favorite Gothamite, well try to picture himher working with a child without killing her/him and then complain to me about it. Or better yet, don't. In the next chapter you kind of get to meet the Kiddies, well some of them, we gotta space them out a bit, too much to write for one chapter. R&R!**


	3. Meet the Kiddies

**Chapter Two! AWAY! (is it bad that i just pictured Mermaid Man?) Ok so it's time to meet the kiddies! Me and Quegal (sorry, Quegal and I) each created the characters separately, only to put them all together in hilarity. After this though i will not post until we receive TWO reviews! To much to ask? I sure hope not! On with the story! **

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><p>Chapter 2<p>

Haley Kite was walking down the hallway, trying to get to her locker before first period math. She finished twisting the dial without any thought to the combination. She pulled out all the books she needed and started to walk to class when somebody gave her a light shove that was enough to make her drop her books.

Haley heard a cackle. "Sorry." She heard somebody mumble the word freak.

"Count to ten, Haley." She said quietly to herself. "One, two, three, four…" She clenched her fists in anger as she picked up her books. Her amber eyes showed her furry. "Five, six, seven, eight…" She started to walk down the hall. "Nine, ten." She let out a breath through her teeth. The school councilor had told her to work on her anger issues. It was a struggle but she didn't want to spend any extra time in detention.

This was the glorious Gotham General, one of the worst schools in the tri-county area. To start, it was a high school, already making it bad. The school was crawling with class clowns, like the annoying Jack, 'affectionately' known as Jack-The-Ripper, popular bitches, like the_ lovely_ girl Haley had just ran into, weirdoes from the creative writing class, and science freaks. But, being Gotham, everything got taken a step further. The class clowns' pranks were often dangerous; the bitches were almost all druggies and worst. The school had terrifying punks, absolute crazies, abnormally large jocks, and an almost always full detention hall. The teachers were almost as bad as the students. Yes, this was Gotham General, the worst school in America.

She walked into class and took her usual seat in the front left hand corner, near the window. It was the perfect seat for a girl like her. The teacher usually ignored it but she could count on being picked every once and a while so she wouldn't seem too smart. The window supplied a place to stare at when she finished her work early and she could see the board easily. The class was half full and more students kept coming in. She took a moment to get out her homework and started to doodle a bit on her notebook. She wasn't really good a drawing, being more of a right-brained person, but it was still relaxing.

The bell rang, signifying that it was time for class to start. A teacher she didn't recognize wrote his name on the board. He had short, red hair and deep green eyes. He was relatively tall and had an aura of arrogance around him.

"Good morning class." His voice caught the attention of everyone in the room. It was smooth and powerful. A few of the more ditzy girls in the room batted their eyes at him like he was the hottest thing since Justin Bieber. Sure he was attractive but not enough to cause her to swoon over some middle aged man. It was only appropriate to like people over 18 when you're talking about Johnny Dept.

"My name is Mr. Pierce. I will be you're long term substitute until Mr. Adams has recovered."

"Recovered?" A student piped up in the back.

"He has gone, uh, missing." Mr. Pierce cautiously told them. There were a few mumbles from the students but it was Gotham, so no one was really shocked. "But back to work."

He wrote a long problem on the board and Haley studied it. It was more challenging than most of the problems they put up in the class and took Haley a little longer to figure out. She lazily raised her hand. She heard a few people snicker behind her and mumble something that sounded like 'nerd'.

"Yes, Miss…" He trailed, waiting for a name.

"Haley." She filled in the blank.

"And your question is?" His voice sounded annoyed like he was losing patience with the world.

"Not a question, Mr. Pierce. I have the answer."

"Would you like to come up to the board and show us then?" He sounded bored.

She shrugged and walked up to the board. She took the chalk and worked out the problem easily. "The answer is 32.5." She summed it up and circled the answer. Mr. Pierce looked impressed.

"Alright then. We're going to have a little contest. He started to hand out papers. "Whoever finishes this paper first and get's then all right gets a, um…"

"A homework pass?"

"An extra credit A?"

"Both." Mr. Pierce settled. Some of the students perked up at the sound of the pending prize. God knew most of them could use it. "You may begin."

The class got to work on answering the problems. They were all tricky and some of the stuff they hadn't fully covered yet but Haley was still the first one done. She stood up and handed it to the teacher. He checked it over quickly.

"Pencils down, Haley wins." He handed her a makeshift homework pass. The whole class groaned.

"Come on Mr. P that's hardly fair!" Somebody yelled.

"No?" He asked while raising a questioning eyebrow.

"Yeah! She should be a, like, senior already!" A girl claimed. Haley started to count to ten in her head.

"Give somebody else a chance, freak!" a popular bitch named Anna called out. It was the same girl who knocked her books out of her hands. She stopped counting.

"Oh that's it, bitch, you're going down!"

The Riddler watched with amusement as the girl Haley tackled the other girl to the ground. She would be perfect. Reluctantly, he had to stop the fight.

"Ladies!" He boomed. "Detention for both of you! Class dismissed." He said just as the bell rang. Haley smoothed her fiery red hair, that was very similar to his own, and stood up with a humph. Yes she would be perfect. He could even see her wearing green.

Crane blinked and stared at the girl before him sitting up right in the metal chair in front of his desk. She was smiling with her dark purple colored lips at him care-freely. In her nose was a dark metallic stud and her long jet black hair had two streaks of light purple in the front locks. The wore a lacy purple shirt with the name of some band called 'Evanescence" in bold dark purple print over a dark black tank top. Around her neck and wrist were spiked black bands and she had on a pair of black combat boots over ripped dark jeans. She looked like a punk rocker.

The girl folded pale hands in her lap and he could see dark purple nail varnish on her clipped fingernails. She was also staring at him with a sweeping look, analyzing his being with intelligent grey eyes the color of car metal or street gravel. Her eyes usually sent shivers up people's spines but they cast no effect on Jonathan Crane, almighty god of fear. Crane gazed down at the sheet of council sessions and read her name. "So, Miss Reeds-"

"Call me, Chan, short for Chanel, ya know." Crane raised an eyebrow, nodding slowly.

"So…Chan, why exactly are you being counseled for?" he asked, though her appearance seemed to speak for itself. Chanel blinked, thinking over what could have landed her in counseling over the past year. Was it the fact that she was a freak? Or that she would probably be confined in a cell for a majority of her life? The possibilities were pretty much endless.

"Mrs. Fields says I gotta come here twice a week to get over my…obsession as she calls it." Crane jotted this down in his metal notebook with ease.

"Obsession with what," Chanel smiled and made a 'hehe' sound through her nose.

"Oh, uhhh, I like to scare people and make them cry." She answered nonchalantly as if it were totally normal a pass time. Jonathan cocked his head to the side. Was she being serious? Chanel sighed in boredom and glance at the clock. "Hmm, can I leave early, mister…"

"Mr. Qualm," Crane answered and Chanel rose and eyebrow.

"Mr. Qualm? Can I leave early, I've got a date with the Superintendent."

"Hmm?"

"You don't know? Superintendent Grimm is visiting today to speak at this assembly Robs is throwing. I wanted to welcome him the good ole G.G way. He's a big germaphobe, I'm thinking that if I play like I have a plague and sneeze on him he'll be a ball of mama's boy tears." She laughed with a distant look of contentment. "Oh, man, that's fun stuff."

"Scaring others bring you…pleasure?" Crane asked a bit intrigued and the unusual girl shrugged with a nod.

"Last week, I dressed up like a mutated swamp thing and trampled Mrs. Marshal, the English teacher, and she fell out the window!" Chanel's head jerked back as she giggled in remembrance. "But it's all cool cause she landed in the school garden and only had a bruised buttock. I got suspended for a few days, but hey, it was worth it to hear her scream bloody murder!"

Crane stared at her blankly, as she shook with insane glee. This girl was out of her mind. But she'd be perfect to teach, oh yes just perfect. Again Chanel gazed at the clock and shot up. "Shit! I gotta go, see you….whenever?" she grabbed a handful of tissues from the tissue box on his desk and bolted out of the room and into the hall way with a devious grin.

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><p><strong>Alright we introduce to you the group nerd, and the neighborhood psychopath! Alright i know what your thinking "ninjapoke, why are the students so alike their mentors?" Well do you think they would pick somebody who was nothing like them? <strong>

**Ok, sorry, I'm hyper. But seriously... two reviews! Those are our demands! And thanks for the two story favorites! they mean a lot! **

**XOXOXOXO ~ ninjapoke 3 :) **


	4. Meet the Kiddies 2

**Ok so we got a the reviews (thank you, by the way) so as promised here is Chapter 3! **

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><p>Chapter 3<p>

Ivy pretended to read, when in fact she was observing the small determined girl in the corner. Her name had caught the plant princess's attention; Ever Fern. The girl had dark auburn hair the color of charred cinnamon, just up to her shoulders. Her startling green eyes were the distinct color of grass. She had an intent look of passion on her face as she took her notes on the section. It was about plants, Ever's favorite part of Life Science. It was in her DNA with her parents' careers both focusing on Herbarium.

She was wearing a save the rainforest pin on her green V-neck that was under a black jacket. She had on green shin-high socks and black ballets under a pleated jean skirt. Around her neck was a flower charmed Pandora necklace. After a while, the girl stopped and set her pencil down. Her eyes drifted out the window beside her. Ivy's eyes followed hers and she looked upon a beautiful profuse garden. It had been well kept and she could tell by the triumphant look in Ever's eyes she was its keeper.

A small smile touched Poison Ivy's lips. This girl was it, hers. Then a chewed ball of paper hit the side of the girl's face. Ever cringed and slowly turned her head in the direction of the saliva ball. It had been launched by a well built male with a striped hat over straight dark blond hair. He had piercings in his pointed ears and a grin that Ivy found annoyingly familiar.

He snickered as Ever got to her feet and faced him. "You think you're funny, huh, Jack?" she asked in a voice full of mock sweetness. The boy, apparently Jack's, smile grew smugger as he nodded. "Well, I bet your didn't know that 35% of that disgusting wad of filth you just spat is made of tree wood. The fucking lumber-jacks in the shitty paper business go around and cut down nature's wonders so you can freaking chew it and make it into an insult?" she grabbed the boy by the shirt and continued to rampage on about how the government is hurting the environment and Ivy's smile turned into a humored laugh.

This girl was diffidently the right one. She watched the girl yell at the man until a teacher from the hall burst into the room. "Miss Fern!" she boomed and Ever's face went pale. "Detention after school," Ever groaned and let the boy go as the bell rung. She promised her parents she wouldn't be sent there again, but damn the stupid kids in this school with their litter and hurting plants she couldn't help it. Ivy watched ever leave with pleased eyes. For once the Joker had been right, though she'd never admit it aloud.

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><p>Jarvis Tech was ready to teach a creative writing class. He supposed the mad man had though he would like an apprentice who sees the world in a different eye. After all, if you could come up with ideas and twist reality into horrible fiction, weren't you already halfway insane? He looked over the last teacher's notes. The children in this class had written short little poetic type stories about how they felt and how other people thought about them. He figured he couldn't pick a better day if he was to learn about his new 'students' minds. The class was soon all there. It was filled with a simple, pathetic ten students. He doubted he would find anyone.<p>

Emmy Wonder walked into her favorite class, creative writing, only to find that her favorite teacher, Mrs. B. wasn't there. In her place there was a short, blond man with large teeth. "Where's Mrs. B?" She asked. Her sky blue eyes blinked at the stranger, who just stared at her.

"She couldn't make it today." He answered. He had an English accent. She twirled her short, super curly blonde hair with one finger.

"Alright then. Who are you?" She asked thoughtfully. Her voice was out there, like she was always dreaming.

"Mr. Carroll." He replied.

"Pleased to meet you."She pretended to curtsy with an invisible skirt that had appeared over her jeans in her head.

He smiled. Jarvis liked this girl, liked her a lot. She smiled sweetly at him before taking a seat. "Ok class, we are going to take turns reading your poems, who's first?" He asked with a hope that the class would lead. A few students lazily raised their hands. He let them go, one by one, until he was bored out of his mind. Was there no one with a strong enough imagination to work with the Mad Hatter? Finally the girl who had caught his attention at the beginning of class stood up to go.

"You're up Mss…" He paused.

"Emily, but most people call me Emmy."

"Alright then Emily, go ahead." He almost prayed that she would have something interesting for him.

"They tell me I'm crazy.

I'm not crazy.

_Are you?_

No! I'm not!

_It's possible…_

Stop! I'm not crazy.

_ They _are the crazy ones.

It's all the stock brokers and politicians and doctors that are the _real _crazy ones.

_Says you._

Shut. Up.

As I was saying, they think they can decide what's 'normal'.

Then they take control of anyone who is outside that definition.

It's anarchy, absolute mutiny.

_It's **insanity.**_

But then again, what are we all but madmen and woman?

_We're all mad here!_

_ We're all mad here!_

Straitjackets are a man's best friend.

_We're all mad here!_

Padded cells are more fun than cotton candy clouds.

_We're all mad here!_

So I guess that makes me crazy too.

_Absolutely crazy!_

_ We're all mad here!_

** We're all mad here.**"

Jarvis almost felt his jaw hit the floor. She quoted the Cheshire Cat at least five times. He quickly collected himself. The other students in the room where shifting nervously in their chairs. They had all caught the hint of insanity in her voice. The way her voice changed was obvious when she was indicating another player in the poem. She smiled.

"Well done." She seemed to light up with his praise.

"Freak." Somebody from the back of the class murmured, causing Emmy to frown.

"That's all a matter of perspective." She stated before gliding her small form back to a chair. The bell rang and they all got up and left.

Emmy walked up to the boy who made fun of her in class. "What's the matter, Trenton? Afraid to walk among the insane?"

"Go away, you crazy bitch." He told her.

"Make no mistake. I will boil you in hot oil, skin you and feed your deformed carcass to a zoo of animals and watch them fight over your body."

"Mss. Wonder!" She heard the shrill voice of an assistant principal and winced. "What has gotten into you?"

"Insanity?" She mumbled under her breath.

"What was that?"

"Nothing, ma'am."

"I will see you in detention after school today, got that?"

"Yes ma'am." She answered weakly. She never had detention before. Ever.

Jarvis watched the scene with glee. He had found her. Oh how much fun they would have.

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><p>Jarvis walked through the halls until he came to the school councilor's office. He couldn't wait to tell his friend Jonathan about his choice. He knocked to make it look more professional to any bystanders. "Come in." He heard the doctor's voice sound.<p>

"Hello, Jonathan." He said when he was sure they were alone.

"Jarvis." Jonathan answered curtly.

"Any luck?" He asked.

"Yes actually. I found a girl who has an obsession with fear. I talked to Edward as well. He found a little genius. And you?"

"I found an insane little girl. She quoted the Cheshire Cat six times, Jonathan, six times!" He exclaimed. "She has detention later."

"Good, good. Edward's girl will be in detention as well. I also heard a rumor that a plant enthusiast will be there too. The goal is to get them all in detention so we can make out move there." Jonathan explained.

"This shall be most exciting!"

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><p><strong>So i know some of you were looking forward to seeing Jarvis's new apprentice. I hope we didn't disappoint you. And as for the question wether or not there will be a boy... well you will find out in the next chapter now wont you? and as for the Ivy's being a boy... i agree that that would be twisted, but to twisted to be realistic, unless maybe he was gay cuz otherwise he would stare at her all the time. Naw, it's just to freaky. <strong>

**So now you've met the eco-friendly chick and everyone's favorite crazy! Isn't she sweet? :) **

**OH and thank you Night Monkey for pointing that out. I did laugh extremely hard at the thought of calling the joker a type of blush though... X)**

**PS You are all making me consider getting a shirt that reads 'I 3 My Fans' me and quegal can get them in red and black! **


	5. The Horrors of Detention

**Yay, chapter four, or five if you count the introduction. Finally you get to meet the boy/girl who will assist the... Joker! ha ha haha HAHAHAHAHA! MWAHAHAHAHA! Ok, I'm calm now. Enjoy!**

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><p>Chapter 4<p>

The halls were vacant at the moment when a tall figure in a brown sweatshirt and plaid pair of skater shorts trenched past the plain wall of lockers. The figure scooted into the auditorium, inconspicuously and then took down his hood, revealing a young man with three piercings in each ear and a striped hat over dark blond hair. The youth grinned putting down a gray tin bucket and a bag of glittery confetti and bottle of soda.

He unzipped the bag and dumped it into the bucket before also empting the bottle as well. He worked surely, with that mischievous smile, chuckling. He knew he'd probably be put in detention but that thought pushed no fear into his dizzied head. He was used to it by now. He cracked his knuckles and grabbed a stage rope. The boy's name was Jack Rofter.

Jack smirked as he tightened the rope knot around the handle of the bucket. Oh, today would be glorious, diffidently fun up the boring assembly that was to happen soon. He let out a crazy cackle as he set up the bucket of laughs, neon colored confetti and mountain dew mixture sloshing about, over the speaker box positioned in the middle of the stage. This would also be pay back. Principal Roberts was such an old fart; didn't know a good laugh when it was smashed in his face. But this, this would put a smile of that wrinkly humor-deprived visage.

He stood at the back, hidden in the stage curtains, holding the rope in his hands with a strong grip. He could hear the irrelevant chatter of Gotham General's student body fill the auditorium and he felt another gust of maniacal laughter tickle his throat and stomach. It continued until the high whine of the stand mike shut up the eager mouths. Mr. Roberts stood at the stand, tall and straight, though his gait had been stricken with age. He had a bushy gray mustache that looked like a plump over-stuffed caterpillar. His eyes were dark and held no light. His gray wisps of sheltered hair, was combed over his bald head. And on Mr. Roberts face was a permanent scowl. What Jack hated the most was frowning.

"This assembly is about the recent escalation of unacceptable behavior in our school the past year. For example-" At that moment, Jack yanked the rope making his mop bucket of goodies tip over and spill its contents onto the elderly principal's head. It took two seconds for the whole room to lunge into a roar of unconfined laughter. Mr. Roberts grimaced, flinging the wretched confetti and soda. Jack extricated from the curtains pointing and whooping with devious laughs. "That's it, Mr. Robs, smile like you mean it!" his voice boomed throughout the room. The Joker, dressed in a navy blue jumper, smiled before starting to laugh as well.

If you were insanely suicidal and wanted to die in the most disturbing of ways, Gotham General detention hall was the place to go. There were always the kids who liked to cut themselves, as well as others, that would be happy to be at your service. Or the even pleasanter psychopaths who'd love to just sharpen a lead pencil into a lethal weapon and pluck your eyes out. Oh yes, detention was diffidently for the insane and/or suicidal.

Luckily, Chanel fit the first of these descriptions. She loved detention and the sickly gruesome things that went on there. She could always expect a couple laughs from petrified newbies who had sat in the wrong seat and thus would receive a good being to keep them on their toes. When she opened the door of detention hall she wasn't startled by the mass of patrons. It was almost always full, and it'd be startling if it was not.

She walked in and a smile as wide as pudding face spread across her lips. Jack was there in his usual seat, feet propped out on his desk. She sat in the seat across from him. "Ripper, what's up." She greeted him, resting her own feet on the metal bar of his desk. Jack smiled, looking at her with glee.

"I finally did it, sort of. I almost made Mr. Robs smile." Chanel laughed and clapped her hands some of the students who deemed themselves 'popular,' turned to glance at her rolling their eyes. She paid them no mind, because honesty if she had they'd be crying for their mothers, and no matter how fun that would be, Jack's pranks were more captivating.

"Good job! I wish I were there to see what you did." She scowled and Jack raised a twitching eyebrow at the horrid expression on her face.

"Where were you?" a devious grin replaced Chanel's frown.

"Did you hear about Grimmsy having to go to the hospital?" he shook his head and she began to laugh hysterically. "Well…let's just say that he _slipped _and threw out his back…" she trailed off and their gazes met before chuckling. "Yeah, so Robs gave me about three weeks of detention and I had to stay at the main office the rest of the day." Just then the door opened and a tiny girl with bouncy blond curls and blue eyes walked through the door.

She frowned for a second, looking around, before planting her self in the seat in front of Chanel. The room had gone quiet because the obvious newbie had picked the wrong seat to sit in. they waited expectantly for her to fall victim to the punk's harassment. Chanel leaned forward till her pale face was right behind the girl's ear. "Little girl, Little girl, get in the car." She called and the freshmen's shoulders tensed as she twisted her head around to stare at the creepy looking sophomore behind her.

Jack and a majority of the room blinked at Chanel and she mimicked them. "What, I'm merely pointing out the fact that any pedophile in Gotham would just _love_ to pick up such a cute little girl in their car." The room went eerily quiet and a fiery-headed girl with a pair of glasses over amber eyes two seats behind Jack raised an eyebrow. "Come on I'm just kidding!" Chanel's arms went up as if to state her innocence. Then she looked straight at the girl again with intense grey eyes. "You wouldn't talk to strangers, right, Little girl?"

The girl blinked. "On the contrary," she twirled her hair with her fingers thoughtfully. "I often talk to strangers. If they hear me speak they don't judge my appearance. After I talk to them though, they tend to walk away." The girl pouted for a second before erupting into giggles. The people watching the confrontation felt a lot less comfortable when they heard her eerily creepy laugh. It was a laugh of a mad woman. "Momma always told me that no one would dare kidnap me if they treasured their sanity!"

Chanel stared blankly at her failed scare attempt before laughing. "I like you kid, what's your name?" She leaned forward in her seat to get closer to the new girl and shot a few glares at the people who kept staring at them. Some people were so nosy.

"I'm Emily but they call me Emmy." She smiled brightly.

"They?" Chanel asked, raising an eyebrow.

"You know…" Emmy leaned forward as if sharing a secret. "_They!_" She looked dead serious for a moment before laughing again. "Just pullin your leg! I'm not _that _crazy… or am I…" She looked thoughtful for a moment. "So what's your name?"

"Well I'm Chanel, and this is Jack." She pointed her thumb over to where Jack was sitting. "AKA the Ripper."

"Scary, I like it." She smiled.

"So newbie, what are you in for?" Jack asked.

"Apparently I'm not allowed to threaten to feed people to animals when they insult me but whatever, I'm over it." She sighed. Just then Miss. Red-head-amber-eyes decided to come pay them a visit.

"Hey! If it isn't detention's favorite little nerd!" Jack lightly teased her. She scowled. "Have you met Emmy?"

"Don't test me, Jack. I just came over to ask you to stop corrupting the freshmen. This school is bad enough as it is without you two breeding troublemakers." She scolded.

Chanel threw her arms in the air. "The girl is a goner already!" The other girl rolled her eyes and Emmy giggled her insane laugh.

"It's true!" She laughed.

"So what you in for this time, Haaaaley?" He carried out her name to annoy her a bit. "Lose your temper again?" Jack asked the red-head.

"That damn bitch Anna couldn't keep her mouth shut because I won the substitutes' stupid contest." She growled. "Now we _both_ have detention, so I guess it was a victory in its on way."

"Anna Cross? The one who's scared of law mowers? Oh, she's harmless." Chanel murmured. "But I thought the counting thing'd work, Tiggers."

"I told you not to call me that." Haley said curtly with her narrowed amber eyes. Chanel shrugged as another girl entered the interesting day of detention. She swept back a loose lock of waved auburn hair and her green eyes gazed around the room until the locked on Jack and turned into daggers.

"You!" she shouted from across the room and Jack's eyes widened. The room again had become awkward staring at the group that seemed to have become a cult.

As the girl marched over to them Chanel smirked at Jack. "You've been busy today, eh Ripper. The girls seem to be all over you." Jack shot her a look and she chuckled.

"This is all your fault, you ignorant fool! I'm probably gonna get some lecture on doing the right thing again. Why do you insist on annoying me?" the girl's fists were glued to the sides of her short pleated skirt as she stared at him with burning green eyes.

"Losen up, Ever, can't you take a joke?" Jack asked and received a very hostile look in response. "Guess that's a no." he mumbled. Ever took a seat behind Chanel who smiled at her.

"Wow, I haven't seen you since Terrie Parker plucked out your orchards and you punched her in the face. What the Ripper do this time?"

Ever glared at the creepy chick and then at Jack. "He hit me with a freaking spit ball." Chanel blinked, observing Ever for a second.

"Fe, are you sialophobic?"

"What does that mean?" Emmy asked and Chanel gave her a maniacal grin and draped an arm over her shoulder.

"You see Ems; sialophobia is the fear of saliva. Though there is no actual term, it is the most accurate one there is." she answered and Ever rolled her eyes. Today was diffidently a day for the freak shows. The newly built group babbled on in mini conversations until they were all suddenly gagged and some kinds of masks were plunged over their faces.

Haley lunged her head backwards into her assailant's chest (at least that's what she believed) trying to wriggle free, but the hands holding her down were strong and not giving up. Jack's legs went flying up for a second and hit her in the face before he began to flop in a circle. "Ouch, who the fuck!" she muffled against the mask.

Emmy was buzzing into hers, it making a sound that she thought resembled that of a honey bee and she wasn't the least worried about the spontaneous abduction. Ever cussed and did a jig that looked a lot like the hokey-pokey, though it was an attempt to escape. Chanel was giggling into her gag/mask, completely at home, because all the while, the other students in detention hall were screaming so violently, you'd think they'd been set on fire.

The abductors lifted each teen and crept outside the building leaving the terrified others without aid. Soon the gang was aware they had been transported away and were sitting up against something flat and rough, possibly a wall? One by one the masks and gags were removed, revealing a group of five people, all familiar to each of them.

"Ah, shit." Haley cursed under her breath. The five people in front of them were five of Gotham's most notorious criminals, and one of them looked suspiciously liked Mr. Pierce. Wait, pierce… was another word for riddle. Damn.

"Hello kiddies!" Said a chilling voice that made all of them cringe a bit, even the fearless Chanel. They saw the Joker's pale skin and his blood-red smile. "I suppose you're wondering why you're here… good, cause I'm going to tell you!"

Nothing, no sarcastic teenage remarks, no 'let us go's or 'my dad's a cop's. Each of them seemed frozen in place by the clown in front of them. Each of them was frozen for his or her own reason; fear, fascination, curiosity, interest.

"Well you see we villains are getting old." He looked at them expectantly. "When it is time for us to go, we want to leave something in our path. We want to have somebody to follow in our shoes. So I sat down and thought to myself, self, who better to fill our shoes then teenagers, the supposed bright future of tomorrow? And you know what? Myself liked that idea!" He burst into laughter and Emmy shook with the sudden urge to join in it.

The Riddler stepped forward and let his eyes skim over the cluster of teens. "Each of us went into the school looking for a student to…" He searched for a word.

"Reform?" The Joker smiled

"Reform? Ok then… Well we picked you." His eyes lingered on Haley before snapping back to the villains.

"Really you should be honored." Scarecrow smirked at them. "Think of all the wonderful possibilities this has opened for you." Chanel stared at him in a complete trance. She was in _love_ with the man. She had pictures of him all over her room. He was her idol and she thought she would pass out. The almighty god of fear was actually in front of her.

"That's right kiddies! You're Uncle J wasn't just thinking of us when he thought of this idea, but of what it could mean for you!" He smiled wider, if that was possible. "Questions?" Jack and Channel seemed unable to speak at the moment and Ever was too busy depicting the wondrous mystery of Poison Ivy's costume. Haley slowly raised her hand, daring to be the first to break the ice.

"Ya-essss?" Joker smiled at her and she fidgeted ever so slightly.

"Um, how to word this, what the fuck?" She asked. It wasn't bold or threatening as it may have seemed, but more like an honest question.

"I just explained that and I hate to repeat myself. Next question!" Ever was next. The two rational thinking one's were taking the initiative to get everything straight. Joker pointed to her to state her question

"Who's, who's?" She asked.

"What a wondrous question!" The Mad Hatter clapped his hands.

"Yes that is a good question, one that I will be answering." The Riddler took charge. "Mss. Haley will be with me, Ever Fern with Poison Ivy, Jack with The Joker, Chanel with Crane and Emily with Hatter. Is everybody clear?" neither of them had a response, besides Jack's jaw dropping with a mixture of aghast and fear, so he went on with, "Anymore questions?"

Emmy raised her hand quickly; shooting it up in the air like it was the most important question in the world. She waved it around when they didn't pick her right away. "Yes, Emmy?" The Mad Hatter asked with a spec of glee in his eyes.

"Why did ya kidnap us?" She asked. The other four teens blinked at her, asking with their startled eyes 'do you have a death wish?'

"Didn't we just, uh, explain that?" The Joker approached her and Emmy's eyes rested on him in small disagreement.

"No, you told us why we were here, but not why you kidnapped us." She explained her question.

"Would you have come with us if we came marching into the room with an invitation?" Poison Ivy scoffed.

"Yes." She blinked at them as if it were obvious. It her mind it probably was. The Joker laughed, slapping his hand to one knee.

"I can see why you picked this one, Hatty! Alright everybody, in the van, before Batman gets here…"


	6. Tests and Interviews

**Chapter 5 five 5! *sings* Yay! **

**Oh and i forgot. Disclamers: I do not own Batman or any of his villains. Emmy, Haley, Chanel, Ever and Jack are all at least half mine! **

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><p>Chapter 5<p>

The Joker dropped each pair of mentor and trainee off at each rouges lair. The Riddler was currently leading a curious but cautious Haley up to the door of an old basement apartment. He entered a series of combinations into a lock before opening the door. "After you." Be beckoned for her to enter. She carefully stepped inside.

"So, this is your place?" She asked awkwardly as she examined his living conditions.

The main room was neat and organized with a small couch, a chair, and a TV. To the right of that was a small kitchen table with the morning's news paper on it opened up to the puzzle section. There was a counter separating the eating table from the kitchen which was small.

"Yes it is, well one of many, but this one is what I use the most."

"Homey." She played with her fingers a bit before slowly sitting down on the couch. The material made a funny sinking noise under her weight. "So… um… is this for real?"

The Riddler smirked to himself at the honest confusion in the girls eyes. "At the moment, yes, this is for real. I will have to test you though, to see if you're worthy to be the apprentice of the Riddler." Her amber eyes lit up at the sound of a challenge.

"Alright, try me, but please take into consideration that I am only in the tenth grade." Ah, so she held pride in her intellect but wasn't arrogant enough to overestimate herself. She was well aware of her limitations. That would be useful.

"Good. I have six faces - but are nose and mouth free, I have 21 eyes - but still cannot see. What am I?" He asked.

The girl put a hand through her red hair and combed it while she though. "Hmmm, well nothing alive has six faces... a cube? But cubes don't have 21 eyes, now do they? A dice?"

"Is that a question or an answer?" He twirled his bowler hat on his fingers.

"An answer."

"Correct. Here." He tossed her a puzzle book. "Pick one and finish it."

"Sudoku!" She exclaimed. "I am _amazing _at these!" She picked up the puzzle and enthusiastically went to work while he started a timer. She filled in numbers and stuck the tip of her tongue out of the corner of her mouth. She flipped her pencil around and erased something and quickly filled in a new number. "Done!" She called. He checked her time. Five minutes, not bad... but did she do it accurately? He took the puzzle from her and started to grin as he checked it over.

"Wonderful." She smiled at him weakly.

"Um, Mr. Riddler?" She visibly crinkled her nose at how off her calling him that sounded. "Sir?" She tested. "Yuck." She said under her breath. He chuckled softly.

"Child, we are not working so you may call me Edward."

"Ok, um... Edward. Can I be honest with you?" She was playing with her fingers again. What happened to the girl who he saw tackle somebody in the middle of class?

_That girl is sitting in front of a super criminal. _He thought to himself. _Obviously she's uncomfortable. _

"I don't see why not."

"Well is this whole, apprentice thing a good idea? I mean, I was gonna go to college, get a job or something, I don't know. I honestly can't see much of a future in criminal activity." She put her head down as if waiting to be scolded. He had expected her, being as rational and smart as she seemed, to question him. It was only natural.

"I took the liberty of going through your records while I was at Gotham general today. You were _born _to be a criminal. And, if all else fails, you can always play it off like you had no say in your actions."

"You mean that you would just let me go?" She looked honestly surprised.

"Well I'm not going to keep you here against your will. What use would an unwilling student be?" He scoffed. "But I urge you to consider my offer. Your mind is too intelligent to be waited in today's dim-witted society."

She furrowed her eyebrows while she thought about his offer. It was a very tempting offer. To be asked to work with the Riddler because of your intellectual level was extremely flattering. She couldn't help but want to say yes. "I guess I could give it a try." Before long she found herself grinning with him.

"Now that's the spirit. You will need a name... Quiz and Query are out because those are henchgirl names." He pondered out loud as he turned to face her. He stared at her with his deep green eyes. Determination crossed his entire person. "How about I.Q?" He snapped his fingers.

"I.Q sounds nice." She smiled brightly.

"I.Q it is!" He got up to walk into the kitchen to poor some coffee. "You will need a costume, but I could probably fix one up for you. Coffee?" He offered.

"No thanks." She politely declined. "Costume?" She then asked. "I didn't know I got to play dress up with the big kids, too!" She said sarcastically. "Can I trust you to pick out decent woman's clothes? Maybe I should come with you?"

"Harley actually insisted to help Jonathan, Jarvis, and I pick out costumes. The real question should be; can you trust her?" He laughed and heard her giggle in return.

"Well as much fun as it's been, I should go home before my father assumes I've been raped or something." Then she paused. "I do get to go home when I'm not working right?"

"Yes, I am not going to keep you locked up here all hours of the day. You will still be attending school and will be going home. I will need your cell phone number, since it was the only one the school system couldn't provide." She wrote it down for him on a piece of paper. "I'll drive you home. This isn't exactly Gotham's safest neighbourhood, but really are there any?"

"No I don't think there are." She smiled "And you can never be too careful with so many rouges on the loose at the same time."

"Right you are, Haley, right you are."

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><p>Emmy sat at a chair at the end of a long dining table, well; it was considerably large for the house. She was currently sitting in at the Mad Hatter's tea party, inside of his hide-out. Everything was painted obnoxiously bright colors and furnished with distorted chairs and tables. Something's were too big, others were too small, some had characters painted on them. There was a large book shelf filled with various copies of Alice's Adventures in Wonderland and Through the Looking glass, along with other Alice and Wonderland themed books. In a little basket at the center of the table there were small cookies that all said 'EAT ME'.<p>

It was absolutely wonderful. She felt right at home with the disorienting bright colors and all the insanity that made up Wonderland. She smiled as Jarvis Tech re-entered the room with a pot of tea. He poured her some and sat at the other end of the table. She eyed it cautiously before looking up at her new mentor. His bright smile wavered when he saw her not take the tea.

"Do you not like tea?" He asked with a flabbergasted look. How could somebody not like tea? In the Hatter's eyes, that was a crime.

"Oh, no, no! I love tea, but… it's late. Mom tells me I'm not suppose to drink tea after dark. It makes me hyper, and then I can't sleep." She looked down in shame.

"Nonsense! Drink the tea." He ordered. She shrugged her shoulders and her curls bounced a bit before taking a sip. "So tell be something about yourself, anything, or better yet: _Start at the beginning, and when you reach the end… Stop._"

"Well… my name is Emmy, or Emily, and Chanel seems to like calling me Ems. I got a mamma, and a papa, but they never got married and I see them on alternating weekends… usually. I, um… like to write, and draw, and do anything that expresses how I feel or think, which usually creeps people out. Oh! And five out of four students agree; I'm certifiably insane!" She smiled proudly.

"Good, good!" He clapped. "Now, we will need to call you something. Alice?" He asked. She scrunched up her nose and shook her head violently, her hair tossed wildly about.

"No, it's to unoriginal for somebody who would work with you, and plus, what would happen if you met a lovely lady who wanted to help you and I already took the name Alice?" She explained with animated arm motions. "No, Alice would simply not due at all!"

He examined her small figure. The way she moved around with so much energy reminded him of a bunny, a rabbit… The White Rabbit! Yes that was the name for her.

"Then we shall call you the White Rabbit."She smiled brightly with all of her teeth showing at this, her blue eyes sparkled with interest.

"People can call me Bunny! Oh I love it!" She squealed. "But I should go. I don't want to give my mother a heart attack by not coming home."

"Alright, alright, now be on the lookout because either I or another rouge will be in contact with you."

"Will do, um, can I call you Jarvis? Or Hatty? Or should I call you Mr. Hatter…"

"Jarvis is fine."

"Oh we are going to have so much fun!" She squeaked as she walked out the door.

"Yes we are." He said to himself. The Joker had really outdone himself this time, who ever knew that copying Batman could be such a good idea?

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><p>Jack's eyes darted through out the room, a nervous grin spread across his peachy face. If he had been the least right-minded he'd be shaking violently, maybe even crying. At least he had the sense to be afraid, because the man before him with his white face and red painted lips and jelled green hair was Satan in the human image. Joker sat across Jack, one leg resting on his knee and fingers laced together.<p>

"So, Jacky, tell me about yourself, son." He said with a smile and Jack gulped.

"Uh, I'm an only child, junior, no plans for college or a career in mind. And…" he paused. "My mothers…a drug addict." Jack finished with a cheesy smile. The Joker rubbed his chin, taking in Jack's basic back round story.

"Spiffy life you got there. I can tell you that at least one of those things will change today." Jack raised an eyebrow and his mentor went on. "From today forward you're my kid. Your career is currently doing whatever I say and learning a couple neat things in the after math. Got it?"

Jack nodded; did he even have a choice? "Mooooooving on, what motivates you to do your pranks, sonny-boy?" Jack's lips twisted a bit.

"Nothing, really…it's just fun…" that was the best way to describe his urges to prank others. It was just unexplainable fun. Mrs. Maple almost calling the ambulance when he told her he had poisoned the water fountains when it was really just grape Kool-Aid. Pulling the fire alarm and convincing Mr. Roberts that the furnace had gone out of control, making everyone have to go out in the rain. And especially when he dressed up as a maniac with a plastic, yet insanely realistic chainsaw and chased the slutty cheer squad in the gym, earning him the nickname of Jack the Ripper his freshmen year. Yes pranks were oodles of malicious fun.

"Hmm…good enough. Now you shall have even more fun. Tomorrow, here, after school, 3pm sharp, if not well…you'll be brutalized. Got it?" Joker's face was serious and something about his face made Jack's mind think of the killer clown from that movie _IT _by Stephen King. It had given him the idea that a smile could make everything look better, even a psycho circus-themed carnivore. For the first time it didn't work, at least not on this man's face. He turned wanting to get out of the madman's house as soon as possible. "Last question, before you leave." Jack stopped and glanced fearfully over his shoulder. "Can you handle a punch?"

"Yes." There was no hesitation with this answer. He'd had to take 'em for a majority of his life. He could take them without a word or flinch. He'd only smile, grin and bare it. It was the thing he was best at.

Joker's smile grew wider and he turned going to the staircase that led upstairs. "Good." He waved his hand at the teen who blinked confused. "You may go." With that, Jack turned and literally bolted out the door. Joker snickered. _This ought'a be interesting…_

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><p><strong>So did you like it? The rest of the kiddies will have their turn in the next chapter. I've been updating more slowly because both quegal and i have had our minds on other things like other projects, school, and such. Hope it was worth it. Let me know what you think! R&amp;R<strong>


	7. Plants and Toxin

**Well Howdey Partner(s). Whos up for another rousing rendition of Apprentice? We still have a few kids to go, right? So I've been having a ton of really messed up dreams and I'm taking it as a sign to update this story! Lol, jk, but i'm updating anyways. **

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><p>Chapter 6<p>

Chanel's lips quivered slightly as she entered the small warehouse like home of her inspiration, Jonathan Crane. It wasn't the cleanest of places (not that she minded it, her own house would be a pigsty if she didn't tackle the task of house duties) with a small half kitchen with a mahogany little table at its center. Across from that was a tweed old couch that looked stained with some kind of dark bodily fluid, she guessed (and hoped) was blood. There were three more little doors that she assumed were spare rooms and a bathroom.

Her feet felt electrically charged as she moved them in a posed manner as if being in the lair of Scarecrow did not throw her mind into a buzz. It wasn't her style to go all out and bubbly, not unless she was in a room full of screaming people. She was too cool, too collected for that. But she could feel the urges to scream in glee as she observed the lair, and the man behind her could sense her holding back some extreme emotion by the way her fingers trembled at her side.

He supposed it was fear; it would only be logic that he frightened her, being a villain and all. That was until, she saw the mask. The burlap sack with a black stitched on sneer and cut eyeholes lay on the couch, and Channel held it in her hands, staring with wide grey eyes. Then she screamed, bouncing up and down, spinning, the mask pressed to her chest. Crane blinked, the girl seemed so reserved before and now she was acting crazier than a Bieber believer. "Oh my god, it's the mask, the mask! I can't believe it I'm freaking holding the _mask_!" she shouted. "Can you put it on?" she had somehow appeared in front of him, holding out the mask with an excited smile.

She almost looked like a little girl who'd gotten everything on her Christmas list. Her now open grey eyes stared up at him waiting. He raised an eyebrow before sighing and pulling the sack over his head. She gasped and screamed again, almost doubling over his skinny frame with a sudden choking hug. He stumbled back and tried to detangle her but she only slide down and glomped his leg. He shook it before stopping. "Enough!" he boomed and Chanel blinked slowly backing away and to the couch. "What is wrong with you?"

A look of shame came to Chanel's face and her lips pressed together. "Sorry," she murmured quietly. "I lost my marbles for a sec, but it's just…I _worship _you." Crane narrowed piercing blue eyes at the girl, seeing if she was lying or not. She wasn't.

"Why?" he could hardly believe that a teenage girl would worship a middle age criminal though he had witnessed weirder occurrences. She gave him a look of shock as if it were the most obvious thing in the world.

"You're Jonathan Crane and Scarecrow, the man whom people have nightmares about! You're like fear itself dude, how can I _not _love you. I still can't believe you chose me." She staring at him with this lovey-dovey expression of gratitude and Crane closed his eyes and turned.

"I'm going to work…don't _touch anything_." No longer than five minutes after he had descended into the basement, did he hear the creaking of wandering feet. He exhaled a snaky breath. The child didn't listen she needed…**_discipline._ **Scarecrow answered Jonathan's thoughts. **_Gas her, Jonny-boy, show her what_ fear _looks like._ **He could hear Scarecrow chuckle as he grabbed a vile of fear toxin out the pocket of his trench coat and trudged up the stairs, slamming open the basement door.

He came to a halt just as he was about to throw the vile at the girl. She was sitting there, curled up on the couch flipping through an encyclopedia of phobias, at her sides were stacks of books varying from advanced college –level chemistry, a deep cover of the brain functions, and prized novels on psychology. He blinked watching as she put down the roughly 500 page book of phobias and traded it for one of chemistry about the same size. "What are you doing?" Chanel looked up and raised an eyebrow with a smirk.

"What does it look like?" she looked back at the pages that flew past her face. "Mmm, this is very interesting, the chemistry in G.G sucks, they never list the exact scientific methods of the Michaelis-Arbuzov reaction…though the complexities would throw most of the class into a pit of insanity." She laughed and grew quiet still flipping pages. It was then that Crane realized that she was holding his book that had a list of Russian chemist and she _was _actually reading and understood the theory.

**_She'll be useful…_** Scarecrow was the first to comment on the girl who apparently had a photographic memory and extraordinary mental abilities.

_Perhaps._ "Hey, Jon-Jon." Chanel was looking at him again and he glared at her acidly. "I, mean…Jonathan, can I crash here the night?" he raised an eyebrow.

"Don't you have parents to return to?" she shrugged.

"Dad's probably pulling another all-nighter at the lab again and…" she glanced at the books, starting to say something else. "And you have a very marvelous collection." She smiled at him but he could tell that wasn't what she was about to say. Crane sighed and turned back to the basement.

"Do as you wish." She giggled as he returned to his studies below and her faintly wondered if he was doing the right thing. He was sure the girl wouldn't break anything, she had some fear for him. But still her mind, no matter how useful, didn't seem that stable…

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><p>Ever's mouth had dilated at least three inches as she walked through the canopy of green, thriving, beautiful of plant life. The old green house had dingy green tinted glass and mold rampaged each moist surface. Vines as thick and powerful as anacondas littered the ceiling and floor. It was a heaven Ever had always dreamed of. At the far end of the green house hall was a round table draped in Spanish moss and a beautifully tarnished pair of gold chairs. Poison Ivy sat in one and a vine pulled out the other. "Come, sit." Ever didn't object planting herself in the chair to face her new idol. "So, Ever, tell me about yourself, besides your love for my children."<p>

Ever smiled and tucked a lock of hair behind her ear. "My mum's a botanist and works at the new research green house uptown. My dad's an environmentalist, he…travels a lot. I had a sister named Tulia." Her smile dampened ever so slightly and Ivy got the feeling something had happened. Ever looked at Ivy and a sad grin touched her lips. For some reason she thought she could see someone familiar in the green woman's place.

"Both your parents are tree-huggers as well, I see they rubbed off on you." Ivy changed the subject. Ever laughed and nodded.

"Yep, mum says I'm more like my grandma though. She says I have the tendency to breathe fire when people piss me off." Ivy laughed now, it was a quiet mysterious sort of laugh, and Ever vaguely recognized it. The sound was like a thorn in her side. "You remind me a lot of her…" she whispered under her breath. There was an awkward pause and Ever's eyes wandered at each species of plant life. Her eyes spotted a cluster of white and fuchsia colored orchids she believed were called _Rhynchostylis gigantea. _"Mum has those in the research house."

Ivy turned to look at what Ever was referring to. "Yes, they are beautiful. Unfortunately, there are many in the species that are dying out. I've made it my job to adopt as many as I can."

"That's amazing, god knows you'd take better care of them than those who think its best to cut them open and play with their genetics." The both of them laughed now and cursed the perpetrators. "Hmm, I think this might actually work. I'd love to be taught in the art of plant patriotism."

Ivy smirked a moment and then began to think. "We must think of a name for you as well… How about Poison Oak? Do you like that?" Ivy smirked, extending her hand. "Good, I'll see you tomorrow after school, then." Ever smiled and shook her hand, confidently.

"Yes, I shall." She got up and pushed the chair back into the table.

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><p><strong>sooo, questions? Problems? Concerns? REVIEWS? Ok so im not that desperate... REVIEWS? sigh... the next chapter is all about the next day at school. They will certainly have a bucket load to talk about... hehehe<strong>


	8. So How Was Your Night?

**Hey-lo and welcome back! Who's up for apprentice related fun? I know i am! **

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><p>Chapter 7<p>

The next day at school was… interesting, for lack of a better word, for all of the teens. In retrospect, spending the night with a rogue and then going to school the next day _without _calling to cops wasn't really something that screamed 'normal'. But, in spite of this they carried on their average classes, and to the untrained eye, no one would have expected anything to be wrong.

When they passed each other in the hallway, they didn't appear to stop and say hello, or ask how their new 'job' was treating them. In fact, to outsiders they seemed quite rude to each other as they purposefully bumped into each other in the halls.

The truth was that it was the safest way to pass a note along. Emmy was the last to receive and when Chanel roughly bumped into her in the hallway she was shocked. "Chanel?" She started to ask. Chanel sent her a 'be quiet' look as she slipped her the note. It read:

_Skip your last class. Go to the garden instead. We need to talk. Sign after reading and pass to those not named_

_ Ever, Jack, Haley, Chanel_

When the bell rang signaling the beginning of last period, she rushed to the garden. They were all there waiting for her when she arrived.

"Hey, Em!" Chanel flung and arm over Emmy's shoulder and pulled her down to the ground where everyone was sitting. Ever absentmindedly played with her hair and Haley was running her hands through the grass.

"Glad you could make it." Haley smiled at her warmly.

"Right then. Down to business, I assume the reason to why I called a little meeting her is obvious?" Ever asked.

"Yes it is, we are all absolutely insane and you were the only one with sense enough to say 'no' to Poison Ivy so now you called the men in white coats to come pick us up?" Haley said almost hopefully.

"Why do I get the feeling that you aren't really into this whole 'apprentice' thing?" Jack asked her.

"Because I'm not. We are currently working in _the _most dangerous job on the planet, with, and on the side of, the criminally insane. How do we know we won't end up dead in a ditch by the end of the week like all of their past henchmen? How do we know that this isn't a scam for cheep work?" She pointed out.

"Wow, I can really see why the Riddler picked you." Jack joked. She seemed to visibly tense at his name being spoken. "Relax, no one can hear us, no men in white coats are on their way to get you."

"Yeah, a little nervous I guess." She admitted.

"That's understandable." Ever agreed. "Ever since I got home last night I've been looking over my shoulder for bats." She blushed. "So, Jack, how did it go with you-know-who?" She quickly changed the subject.

"Alright I guess, he's a little… odd. He basically interviewed me and then asked if I could take a punch."

"He asked you if you could take a punch? And you still said yes? Are you insane! Look at how he treats Harley Quinn, you'll be dead in a week!" Haley shouted at him.

"Hey, chill! I think he's really serious about the whole me being his new kid thing. He might hurt me a bit, that's understandable, but I don't think he'd kill me." He said in his own self-defense. "Plus it seems like working like the biggest prankster in Gotham will be fun."

They all blinked at him stupidly. "You really are dense." Ever mumbled.

"But I'm lovably dense!" He argued with a stupid grin.

"Keep telling yourself that." Chanel told him. He pouted a bit before playfully pushing her.

"So how did it go with Scarecrow?" He asked her.

"Fine, Crane is cool. He didn't gas me, which I think he was gonna at one point. He even let me crash there." She shrugged like it was nothing, even though it wasn't hard for them to figure out that with her personality, she must love him. "What I'm dying to know is how the school crazy did against the Mad Hatter." She turned to Emmy. "Details girl, you must have had plenty to make nonsense conversations about!"

Emmy grinned. "Well we had a tea party and talked about how I got there, him quoting Alice in Wonderland a bit, then we drank more tea and chatted and I have a name!" She said in one sentence, only taking a breath at the end.

"And what is it?" Jack leaned forward expectantly. "But if he calls you Alice I will be really creeped out."

"Didn't he stalk a girl named Alice?" Haley asked.

Emmy huffed "Leave Jarvis alone! And know he did not give me the name _Alice_! I'm the White Rabbit! Bunny for short!" She was grinning once more.

"It suits you." Ever commented.

"Thanks Ever! Did Poison Ivy give you a name?" She asked.

"Yes Ivy gave me the name Poison Oak." She said with poise.

"Oh it's lovely!" Emmy gushed. "They are so green and pretty but if you touch them it ends badly! It's like plant self-defense!"

"Yeah Poison Ivy liked it too. People say she's really mean but she's not."

"That could be because you're a strong willed girl who loves plants, like a mini her." Haley pointed out.

"Please if they all just loved mini-me's then Crane wouldn't be such a sour puss, cause I'm just like him." Chanel pouted. "He freaked out when I touched his stuff and almost had a conniption when I touched him."

"What did you do, hug him?" Jack laughed.

"No!" She said a little too quickly and he busted with laughter. "Ha, ha, yes very funny. Now how did your night go, Haley?"

"It was interesting. He asked me a riddle to see if I was smart enough and then made me do a Sudoku puzzle. I'm surprised my mind was able to handle it after the initial shock of being abducted and all. But Edward is nice enough I suppose." She shrugged. "I got a name too. It's IQ."

"I want a name." Jack pouted. "Am I the only one who didn't get one?"

"Suck it up, Ripper! I didn't get no name, neither!" Chanel pointed out.

"But you should be getting a costume." Haley informed her.

"And how do you know that?"

"Edward told me that Harley Quinn was taking all the boys with girl apprentice's shopping for costumes. I know you usually cause fear and aren't easily spooked, but I think this might be a good reason to be." She explained.

"Oh I can't wait!" Emmy shouted over Jack's laughter and Chanel's horrified expression.

"Ok, ok, I've had my fun!" Jack panted for breath after laughing so much. He let out an after-laugh sigh. "So now what do you want to do; we still have like half a period left?"

"I don't know." Emmy looked up thoughtfully before falling on her back and looking up in the sky. "That cloud looks like an alligator! Nom, Nom, Nom! " She shouted and put her hands together to make and alligator jaw and animated it so it was eating invisibles in the air. They watched the youngest with amusement. She certainly didn't act her age. "Do you suppose we will work together at all?" She asked after a few minutes of silence.

"I don't know." Chanel answered her before joining her in the grass. They soon fell one by one until they were all laying down in a row. Last night's events were finally catching up to them.

"Wanna play a game?" Emmy asked. There were some mumbled of 'sure' and 'why not' "Ok, somebody names a topic and everyone goes around naming what they like about it or hate. I'll go first. Hobbies? I like to write and read and draw. Next?"

"I like to scare people." Chanel answered.

"Reading, working on puzzles, and I'm in a lot of academic clubs." Haley told them.

"I take care of my plants, obviously, and the ones in this garden." Ever answered.

"I pull pranks, and laugh… yeah, that's it. Movies?" Jack asked. "Action comedies."

"Horror." Chanel stated.

"Oh _that's _a shock." Haley said sarcastically. "I guess romantic comedies, or just comedies. I can't stand sci-fi movies."

"I like sci-fi, and fantasy, and action/adventure, hmmm… comedy, any type, and the occasional animated. Not too crazy about horror." Emmy listed.

"I watch drama and documentaries… sometime's I watch comedies too. Music?" Ever questioned. This went on for the rest of the day and as they started to walk to the place where they were told to meet the rogues after school. They learned a great deal about each other and had quite a few laughs. It was a big surprise to them that a few of them weren't friends before this.

"Haley are you sure you and Ever never really talked before this?" Jack asked.

"I'm serious. And what about Emmy and Chanel? They could be psycho-sisters!" She laughed as they rounded the corner to the ally they were supposed to be waiting in.

"We are all so different but so similar its funny!" Emmy commented. She started to hum a little tune while skipping down the alley. Who ever thought that a group of teenagers could ever feel so safe with totally different people in an alley in Gotham?

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><p><strong>Hey have good news for you guys... school is over for me on wensday so that means more time for Quegal and me to write! Review please! <strong>


	9. Your First Lesson

**Did i ever put a disclaimer in this? Well, if not..**

**DISCLAIMER: Quegalfreshbreath and I own nothing except for the teens. **

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><p>Chapter 8<p>

The rouges were there waiting for the five of them and Joker smiled his red painted lips, looking up at them with sparked eyes. "Ready for the first order of business, Jacky?" he asked and Jack's lips came up in the corners with a nervous feeling in the pit of his stomach as he gave a faint nod. The Joker chuckled a bit and turned to Harley and Ivy. "Have fun shopping and pick us up something nice." Then he and Jack disappeared into the darkness of the narrow alley way.

The other nine watched them go, until Harley squealed, "Let's go shop till we drop!"

"Yay!" Emmy giggled hopping after her, while Chanel, Haley, Ever, and Ivy just followed the two of the reluctantly. The boys, Jonathan, Eddie, and Jarvis gave each other looks of anticipation that this would not go well. Harley jumped into the driver seat, with Ivy on her passenger side.

"Everybody's seat belts on?" she asked glancing back at them and they all shrugged, strapping the belts in place. "We're off!" Harley sang as she started the car and sped down the streets, the car jerking about in risky movements.

Ever held onto the arm rest and Haley held onto her arm and the seat behind her to keep them both steady. Edward had wrenched his fingers into the headrest of the seat, eyes blood-shot and frenzied. Chanel who was in the seat in front of him was cackling at his face, the perfect level between survival mode and perpetual fear. Emmy had her hands in the air wee-ing and Jarvis looked amused, but frightened.

Ivy, used to her friend's homicidal driving, just sat calmly in the passenger seat staring a head at the road, until Jonathan began to scream at her. "Tree…tree…PERSON!" she twisted her head in his direction in a poised manner and a hissing growl slithered through her mouth. That shut him up and he glared out the window beside him.

"Hey," Emmy turned to Chanel who stopped chuckling and smiled at her. "You think of a name yet? All this screaming should give you an idea or two." Chanel looked up at the ceiling thinking, with her tongue peeking out the side of her mouth.

"I got it! Stitch!" Jonathan had been listening to their conversation turned to her raising an eyebrow. Stitch?

"Wait, Stitch, like the alien thing from Disney?" Emmy asked with a confused look. Chanel shook her head laughing and rustling her hair. Such a cute kid.

"Stitch, as in stitches you get when you gots a cut. I love 'em, got a tattoo of one right here." She jabbed the upper part of her left boob with her thumb. Emmy's eyes widened with Crane's at this new feature about Chanel.

"You have a tattoo? Lemme see!" Chanel smiled and hooked her pointer finger around her collar and drew it down a bit and to the left. There on her white skin was a long black stitch tattoo with realistic touches of red, as if it had just carelessly been stitched on a minute ago. Emmy gawked and a proud smirk came onto the tattooed girl's face. Crane closed his eyes and turned away, regretting that he had caught a glimpse of it. "So cool!"

"Yeah, got it in 8th grade. Got one on my waist line too." Before she could ask if Emmy wanted to see that one too, the car came to a sudden stop and they all plunged forward into the objects in front of them.

"Here we are!" they looked up at the little costume store, rectangular built with a depressing wave to it. A store that had been ransacked many times. "Here's where we all get our costume material and then later I'll take them to our 'clothing specialist'." Harley grinned back as she got out the van. The rest, besides Ivy, Emmy, Chan, and Jarvis, mumbled and groaned about how close they had come to death. "Suck it up ya pansies, time to shop!"

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><p>Jack followed the Joker down the street at what he thought was a safe distance. So far, his mentor had told him a few….er…interesting things in the art of hobo genocide. "First, you act like your going to put money in their cans," Joker told him, approaching a pitiful looking homeless man in holed flannels with a stringy beard. The man must have either been high or deliriously insane because he looked Joker in the face and extended a chicken noodle soup can. Joker smiled and then pressed a gun into the man's forehead.<p>

Jack gawked in disbelief. The clown turned round to give him a wink. "Then you pull out a shot gun and then BANG!" Joker shot the poor man in the head and he fell over staring out, arm still extended with an empty bloodied can. You pay them with a bullet to the head ain't that swell Jacky-meh-boy?" The clown draped an arm over Jack's shoulder and the frightened teen gave a very stiff nod. "Good now it's your turn."

Joker handed Jack the shot gun and Jack blinked, shaking. "I…I can't." He said in a hesitant manner. The Joker cocked his head to the side and put his arm around Jack's neck, this time as a strangle rather than a somewhat embrace.

"You see Jacky, when I say it's your turn I mean it's your turn. As an apprentice you have to listen to your mentor or else…" his grip tightened on Jack's neck, and he began sputtering coughs and craving breath. "Things get a little uncomfortable. Do you see now, Jack?" Jack nodded turning blue. Joker smiled and released him. "Good, now go on, there's a fresh one right there. Not a hobo but still a keeper, eh." He nodded his head towards a woman carrying Marshals bags.

Jack caught his breath with a series of choking coughs and aimed at the unknowing female. His smile went a bit lack as he said, "Sorry" under his breath and took the shot….

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><p>Edward ducked under isle five. Or it was isle five until it was pushed on its side by a very giddy Harley Quinn, Chanel, and Emmy. Pandemonium haunted the store now. The females, plus Hatter and the exception of Ivy, had run amongst the place now.<p>

It had begun when they had all collected their material. The man at the cashier desk had told them the price. Harley raised an eyebrow and threw her head back with a laugh. Then she took out a very shiny (and loaded) pistol and pointed it to the man's chest. "I have a good idea! Why don't ya get in that closet over there while we trash the place?"

The man eyed her gun fearfully and relented, moving to the closet at the back of the store. Harley turned to the other villains and villains-in-training with a devious grin. "Let's raid the store! Take what you want! Just throw it in a bag and make as much turmoil as possible!" Harley was determined to get it across that she was the fun aunt like Uncle J was the fun uncle.

"Yay!" Chanel and Emmy shouted clapping their hands as they grabbed spools of fabric and let them run off to the ground. Ever and Haley exchanged a look, deciding on whether they should join or not. They then slammed carts into each other, both making up their minds that fun would be more practical at the moment. Ivy sat on the cashier desk observing the whole scene with a humored grin.

Jonathan Crane just watched incredibly amused by the destruction taking place. Hatter and Emmy sung as they broke clay selves and tore silk sheets to shreds. Chanel surprised Crane by draping heavy layers of fabrics in varying shades of purple that she though would look 'sooooo cute' on him. In response he threw them at her and threatened to spray her with toxin.

Haley slid across the tiled floors on a make believe magic carpet, grabbing Riddler from the tight space between the floor and shelf of isle five that imprisoned him and bought him along for the ride. Ever took to shoving thread in the owner's mouth while Harley and Chanel tied him together. Yes hell had broke loose in the store.

When they were done, they filed back into the van. "Everybody have fun?" Harley asked as she began to put the key in the ignition. She could see Edward, Jonathan, Haley and Ever double strap their seat belts and nod. She smiled. "Okay time to go home!"

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><p><strong>Hey everybody! Well honestly this was Quegal's chapter. I put nothing into this except for some random bits of advice and part of the idea. She put it all into words so *stadium cheer* "yay Que!"<strong>

**Poor Jack, being all corrupted by the Joker... One can only wonder how he is going to handle killing for the first time. Reviews? Yes!**


	10. Guilty, Guilty, Guilty

**I have news! Mewrenee145 has drawn the kiddies in their costumes! Everybody give her a round of applause! You can find the kids on her deviantART, which goes by the same name as her Fanfiction account. As of now she only has a few up but the rest should come eventually. QuetheStitchBear (yes, she changed her name) and I love them and thank her for drawing them. **

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><p>Chapter 9<p>

Haley sighed as she watched the mysterious green van drive away from her little house. She lived in an ok neighborhood only about three blocks from the school. It was one of the nicer areas of Gotham and where about a fourth of the school lived. She was standing on her front porch listening to the nice drizzle as it hit the pavement near her house. Fumbling with her keys, she found the right one and shoved it into her front door. She grumbled to herself when she had to use extra strength to turn the knob because it was broken.

"Daddy?" She said as she closed the door behind her. "I'm home!"

There she saw him, lying on the couch with the lights off. The only light that was provided was the hall light upstairs and the flickering of the TV. The whole room reeked of alcohol and a few empty bottles of beer were lying strewn across the floor.

"Oh, Daddy…" Haley sighed sadly before going to shake him awake. "Dad?"

The sound of her voice was enough to snap him out of the alcohol induced coma. "Wha… Haley? Your home?" He flailed around a bit as he tried to find the sound of her voice.

"Yeah, Daddy, I'm home." She smiled weakly.

"Ok, ok, thank god. I was so worried." He slurred. "I-I thought you weren't coming back.

"It's ok, Daddy, I'm back." She choked on a sob. Her dad didn't really seem to realize that he was still talking and was back in a half awake, half asleep, trance.

"Your back, your back…" He flopped back to his original position and fell back asleep.

She swallowed the tears that always threatened to come when she saw her dad like that. It was a lot, too. "Look what you did to him, Mom, you only made things worse." She said to no one before going upstairs to shower off the nights illegal activities.

The next day was fun. At least to everyone in the gang beside Jack that is. He hadn't been able to sleep that night. His mind kept going back to the inhumane deed he had done not too long before. He had shot a woman walking out of the shopping center, precisely in the side of the skull and Joker had laughed giving him a slap on the back. "Ni**c**e shoooo**t **Jackooo-roony." He cackled and then inspected his pupil's kill. "Very, nice, now that I know you can kill properly, you can go home. Let's go."

As Joker began to walk away, Jack came to look at his victim. She was pretty about in her thirties and such. He wondered what she was buying, why she had to be out this evening, but he had to follow his mentor before he hurt him. though he was sure that eventually he would be hurt. To make things worst his mom wasn't home again so he had nothing to keep his mind off it. Stupid conscious.

So he had been forced to go in and out of naps, dreading the fact that he was a murder, and one of the worst kind. A murderer without a motive. As he got up to the messy kitchen the news on the little television in the small living/ eating room. "A woman was found shot this morning on Park Row. Her name was Katelyn Charleh." He froze and listened guiltily as the reporter did a brief summary of Kate Charleh, beloved wife, mother, and daughter.

It was enough to make him almost frown. Almost. He reluctantly threw some thing one, a pair of beige, black, and green plaid shorts with suspenders over a black shirt with that funny little green Sims diamond on it and some sneakers. Back pack slung over his shoulder and walked out of the apartment door. At his feet he could see the check and he sighed. Child support. He slipped it into his back pocket for safe keeping.

He couldn't focus in school. His grades were never spectacular but he did well enough to pass with a C+ or something. The test they took in Life Science though he was sure he flunked. Ever was the first to notice that the prankster wasn't annoyingly giddy as usual and talked to Haley about it in gym. Chanel noticed when he passed her in the hallway without giving her a high five for her scare on some small freshman guy, by acting like a stalker and sending him threatening notes in serial killer letters.

She and Emmy spoke about it and the group of girls banded together to see what was bugging their friend (well they dragged Ever along).

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><p>Jack just lightly pushed her away. She stood up and walked over to where the other two girls were watching. Haley glared at her for her horrible methods of comfort. Ever felt an annoying pang in her chest that she didn't want to feel towards, of all people, Jack. Concern. What she felt towards the man she 'strongly disliked' was concern. Sure she wasn't heartless and would accept the feeling with open arms if it wasn't being felt about him. She wanted to make it go away. Emmy just examined Jack with a tilted head. Worry crossed her generally cute and childish expression, making her brows furrow.<p>

"Jack…" Haley experimented, "Tell us what's wrong."

Jack sighed and placed his head in his hands. He rubbed his face tiredly and it became obvious to the girls that he hadn't slept much the night before. "Last night…Joker and I did some things…" Haley's eyes narrowed and she came a bit closer to him.

"What kind of things?" she asked. Jack looked up and met her eyes that said very plainly, _you beeetter not lie to me. _His hands tugged at his suspenders nervously.

"The…usual. Target practice in Park Row..." The girl's eyes all widened, Haley, Ever, and Chanel knowing what happened and Emmy because, well, she couldn't believe he and Joker went to Park Row without her and Chan. They loved that place.

"You and Giggles shot that blond chic?" Chan said with a surprised grin. Hey, if you work with a Rouge, you mightiest well think like one. Killing was part of the program. A part she didn't necessarily mind…

"_I _did it. And it's not funny, Chan…she had kids and stuff." That made the grin on Chanel's face fade as she remembered her own mom. "What did she ever do to me? I just shot her cus…she just happened to be there and Joker said too." Chanel gave him a nudge her face serious.

"Wasn't your fault, dude. If Giggles told us to shoot some person we'd sure as hell do it….he's scary." She admitted. Haley and Ever nodded in agreement while Emmy frowned. Uncle J wasn't always scary, especially when he laughed. It made her want to, too.

"Don't beat yourself up. It…would have happened eventually. You just need to…"

"Man up." Ever finished Haley's sentence with a bit of disappointment. She looks at him with blank green eyes. Chan, Haley, and Emmy gave her a look for being so apathetic. She wasn't trying to be; it was the only way she could really give the guy some…_comfort. _Plus, hearing him mope was damn _pathetic_. "You work for the Joker and unless you want to die too, killing people is one of the things you're gonna do. You don't want to die yet, do you Jack?"

"No." he couldn't leave his mom behind to drown in debt and stuff…

"Good, so get over it, after a few times you'll get used to it." She grabbed her stuff and stood up. "See you guys tomorrow. I've got somewhere to go today…" it was June 13th, the dreaded day. They watched her leave with blinking eyes.

Jack sighed, looking at the rest of the girls. He didn't want to bother them over something he knew would happen. Ever was right, he had to man up. Emmy came and gave him a hugged followed by Chanel and a rather reluctantly hesitant Haley. "Don't look so down, Jacky." She said with a sweet grin.

Jack smiled back. They knew how to cheer a guy up. "Okay…I'm fine now. Thanks." Chan and Emmy laughed and Haley gave him a half grin. Then they all laid back and started to talk about the things they'd probably have to do in the future…

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><p>Ever walked into the cemetery with a bouquet of Tulips. The air was chilled like every other time she'd visit. She paced past the headstones until she came to a pale marbled one. She stood there a second till her knees gave out. Tears flounced from the corner of her eyes and she sniffled. She hated this day.<p>

"I miss you…" she whispered with a cracking voice. "I miss you so much…Mum and Dad, too. They're probably in the basement looking at the paintings. They can't bear to sell them even though it was your dream." She laid the flowers at the front of the headstone gingerly. She grew Tulips a lot ever since last year. _Your favorites…_she thought. "I promise one day the world will see your creations." Then with a tough face she rubbed away the tears and turned for the exit…

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><p><strong>soooooo? What's your opinions? This is a rather depressing and chapter if you think about it. We have Haley's family for the first time, we have a moody ang guilty Jack, and we have a mourning Ever. Reviews?<strong>


	11. Bonding

**Hello! Sorry about the delay... to be honest i thought i posted this chapter already. Oops. Oh and warning, this one is less depressing then the last but it still has its moments. Sorry if you don't like that stuff but it's part of making the story realistic. **

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><p>Chapter 10<p>

Haley and Ever walked slowly into towards the local snack bar that was only a little way from the school. They had been hanging out a lot lately ever since they found out they had so much in common. They took a seat in an unoccupied booth in the back. "So, do you think Jack's really okay?" Haley asked quietly. For some reason it bothered her lately. He wasn't moping about anymore, but the Ripper she knew that was annoyingly joking seemed to have changed.

Ever shrugged and sat back into the seat cushions. "Who cares, he'll get there."

"What's with that attitude, Ev?"

"Nothing, I just think that we're all drifting too much on the murdering thing. It is expected." Haley sighed and nodded in agreement. There was knot in her stomach at the thought of having to kill another person. Could she do it when the time came? That even she couldn't figure out.

"Anyways, is Ivy taking you on a field test too? Edward said it was my turn today. I have to help him with a scheme." She asked her friend.

"I don't know, I'll ask her when I get to the green house." Ever paused remembering something. "Oh, and Emmy called me before. Said that Jack told her that the costumes were ready for us."

"Really?" Haley raised an eyebrow with a frown. "I hope they're decent. Most female rogues have very…diverse and eye-catching qualities."

"True, though Ms. Ivy's isn't so bad."

"Jack's should be interesting. Something clowny, for sure." Thoughts of the young prankster in white powdered make up and dark eye-liner made the pair laugh. "Oh, god, I'd pay a fortune to see that."

Just then a waiter came and set two ice cream sodas in front of them. Haley gave him a polite thank you, while Ever ignored him like he didn't exist. As he left, Haley gave her a look. "What?" Ever demanded, taking a sip of her drink.

"That was so rude."

"So?"

"Never mind." Haley mumbled. The conversation had dipped into annoying, or notable things that occurred in each of their classes. Ever looked at the clock and realized that almost ten minutes had passed. She had to get to the green house soon.

"Hey, I gotta go, see you tomorrow." She waved at Haley, finishing her soda and leaving the glass for the waiter. Haley waved back and began to think about her meeting with Edward that she would have to leave for soon. He wouldn't explain anything to her when she asked. All he said was that she'd see. Like that would appease her teenage impatience…

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><p>Emmy looked around the spacious room. She had asked her mother if she could go home with Chanel 'cus they would be going to a club meeting. What club she didn't know, and her mom didn't ask. The room that she was in had white walls, red carpet and red furniture, all arranged neatly.<p>

"Come, Ems, to my lair." Chanel beckoned to her. Emmy nodded with a smile, following her with her springy gait. They came to another large room with dark purple and black walls, covered in posters of Scarecrow and punk rock bands. It had a plush lavender carpet that tickled her bare feet. On the white ceiling were drawings in dark purple, black, and lavender paint. Emmy laughed at how a majority of the pictures had dark humor to them. Like men with sick grins and vague faces and little girls with creepy stares.

"Cool!" she spun around to see them all. Chan smiled at her and opened a door that was to the far right.

"Look at this." She turned on a light and Emmy gasped. It the room was a totally realistic statue of Jonathan Crane made out of generic house hold items, standing tall and strong. Candles, blown out and melted, surround the statue's feet. In the back round of the small closet was Chanel's wardrobe. Emmy squealed.

"Wow!"

"Yeah, spent a while, five years to get the perfect image. Hey…" she turned to Emmy with a twinkle in her eye. "Wanna help me make purple flames on the walls as a background?"

"Sure!" Emmy cheered as Chan went and took cans of paint off top shelf in the closet. "Wait, will your parents get mad? Mine do when I draw on stuff besides paper and my door."

"Nah, my Dad barely comes in here. He just works and stuff." There was something in her voice that was a bit grim. Emmy frowned.

"Spiky or weaving waves?" she asked changing the subject.

"Twisted, like our souls, baby!" the other girl cackled. "This is gonna be so awesome!"

The girls giggled and drew all over the walls. In the end it looked like the place was on purple fire. "That was fun!" Emmy giggled. "We need to hang out more often!"

"Definitely, girl!" Chanel smiled wickedly.

"Hey, Chan?" She asked. Both girls had collapsed into two beanbag chairs near each other and Emmy was scooting hers closer to the older girl.

"Yeah, Ems?"

"Can I braid your hair? It's so nice and pretty and looks like fun to braid." Her eyes held the kind of innocents that not many could pull off.

Chanel laughed. "Why not? Express your feelings though my hair!" She called with a laugh.

She sat still while Emmy braided the purple hair in with the black to make it look cool. "Do you think Jacky is going to be ok?" Emmy asked after a while.

"Ripper? Yeah, he'll get over it eventually, once he goes insane that is."

"Once he goes crazy?" Emmy asked, not catching her drift.

"You see, Ems, unlike you and I, most of the new apprentices aren't crazy so this is hard for them to take in. Eventually, though, working with the craziest men and women in Gotham will get to them and they will go crazy."

"A walk among mad men can leave a person just as mad." Emmy said quite poetically. That was something Chanel noticed about her new friend. Sometimes her innocence completely left her and she entered some sort of a daze. On occasion, her friend would enter a moment of pure insanity.

"Ouch!"

"Sorry." Emmy apologized for pulling her hair. She tied it up in the 'pretty' braid and her cell phone buzzed. "Oh, I'm my mom. She says I need to go home now. Bye Chan, see you tomorrow." She waved politely and left.

"What an adorable, insane, kid." Chanel remarked to her statue of Jonathan Crane with a shrug.

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><p>Jack couldn't get rid the soul-wrenching feeling of guilt. It made him want to curl up in a ball and hurl his stomach's contents on the cold concrete. But he couldn't do that. No, he had to stay strong and get over it. It was like Ever had said, they all had to get used to it.<p>

_Cool it, Ripper, it happened, part of the past. You can't change it. It _will _happen again. _He thought. But even as he told himself this, the guilt stayed.

Talk. That's what he needed to do. Talk to someone. And when he said someone, he meant someone who wouldn't arrest him for first degree murder. He took out his phone and flipped through his contacts. He couldn't anyone from school aside from four girls, so that was the majority of his contacts list out. He obviously couldn't call any of the numbers the rogues gave him. He didn't feel like getting laughed at. What few relatives that he had whose numbers he also had wouldn't understand either, so that left four contacts.

Immediately he crossed Ever off the list. He didn't even know why he had her number. That left Chanel, Emmy, and Haley. Emmy was the next to get taken off the list. Sure she was a sweet kid, but besides hugs, she probably wouldn't have any idea of how to help. Chanel went after that. He didn't expect her to understand, since she was so into peoples' suffering. That only left one person. He hit ok over her number and held it to his ear as she stepped into an alley.

"Hello?" Haley's voice filtered though the phone.

"Hey, Haley, it's Jack." He said.

"Hey Jack, what's wrong?" Did he sound that bad that she could guess that something was wrong.

"I… I just can't stop thinking about it, ya know?" He said. No use beating around the bush.

He heard her sigh into the phone. "Yeah…" She paused after that and he could only hear her breathing. "Jack… I don't know if it would help, but why don't you go to her wake, sit in the back, and say a prayer or something?"

He hadn't thought of that. "Yeah, I should go pay my respects…" He trailed off, thinking.

"Jack, I gotta go. Edward and I have to go do something and he's telling me to hang up the phone."

"Good luck." He hung up the phone with the hope that the Riddler wouldn't make Haley kill somebody yet.

He remembered reading in the paper where the wake was going to be, so he started to make his way over there. He reached the small little building and noticed that there was a line out the door for the people who wanted to pay their respects and talk to the family. He didn't know what he would say if he stood in line, so he just went inside.

It was depressing. There were a bunch of chairs set up in neat little rows. Not many people were seated, but those that were, were morbid or crying. He took a seat in the back of the room and watched a few little kids run by, completely unaffected by the depressing mood. He folded his hands in his lap and lowered his head in a silent prayer. He also thanked whoever was up there that the casket was closed.

He stood up to slip out of the building, but he caught a glimpse at the grieving immediate family standing up near the casket. The people in black accepted hugs and handshakes from the people who the dead woman knew. With one last look at her small, crying children he left.

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><p><strong>See, mostly bonding, then more depression. I promise the next chapter has the Rogues, or at least one rogue, in it. Reviews! Oh and our next update might not be for a while because Que's computer is being moody so she can't write. So we will update when it's fixed. <strong>


	12. Checkmate

**Wow sorry for the delayed update... I've been going through some hard times and i didn't want my writing to suffer. I wrote this chapter... Que and I are working on writing entire chapters by our selves and i will be sure to alert you as to who wrote what. **

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><p>Chapter 11<p>

Haley sighed in the passenger seat of the green Riddler van. How know one was suspicious of the vehicle was beyond her. Seated next to her was one of Edward's henchmen, and a real jumpy one at that. She thought his name was Rick… or John, maybe it was Bob… Anyway, he was a short, skinny man though he looked young enough to be called a boy. He was jumpy and she was sure that the only reason Edward kept him around was to do small errands… like picking up Haley without worry that he might hurt her.

They pulled up to where Edward's apartment was and he let her out. She awkwardly waved goodbye and walked inside. "Edward!" She called out.

"Hello Haley." He said, coming out of nowhere and almost giving her a heart attack.

She smiled at him. "So what exactly are we going to be doing today?" She asked. The curiosity had been killing her all day.

He smiled and shook a finger at her. "Curiosity killed that cat." He said smugly.

"Yeah, well, last time I checked, I wasn't a cat, now tell me!" She said stubbornly and crossed her arms. He couldn't help but smirk at how much she reminded Edward of, well, him. It was kind of scary considering they even looked alike.

He debated on whether or not he should tell her. "Today we are going to the art museum." He said simply.

"And…?" She leaned her head forward.

He chose to ignore her and just cut to the point "Alright, on to business. I have a surprise for you." She perked up slightly at that, losing her stubborn mood a bit.

"Really?" She asked.

"Yes, really." He said. "But you'll get it after our errands."

"Alright. Fine." She finally gave in. "So what do I have to do?"

"I'll tell you on the way there. The museum closes soon and we need to get in before it does." She nodded obediently and followed him out to the van. He got into the driver's seat and she climbed into the passenger seat. "First we have to go pick up a few of my men." He explained as they turned down a street leading to the warehouse district.

They pulled up next to a shady looking building and he got out. "Stay here." He told her. She nodded and watched as her new 'boss' went inside. He came out of the building flanked by two big looking men dressed in casual clothing. She started to wonder why Edward wasn't in his costume too. The two men climbed into the back of the van and gave her an odd look. Haley just raised her eyebrows at them as if asking them to challenge her. Edward got back in the front seat and one of the men started to talk.

"Uh, boss? Are you related or something?" Haley cringed at how unintelligent he sounded.

Edward smirked a little. "No."

"Oh…"

"So, Edward, what are we doing again?"

"We are going scouting." He answered. She tilted her head curiously at him. "We are going to see if there is anything worth our attention there, that way we can go back, I can write a riddle for it, and then we can steal it."

"Oh... ok then." She shifted in her seat to get more comfortable.

They were almost at the museum when her cell phone rang. He looked at her as she took out the phone and checked the caller ID. "Can I take this?" She asked him. He nodded and gave a small hand gesture. "Hello?" Edward could faintly hear a worried voice filter though the phone. "Hey Jack, what's wrong?" Jack? The Joker's apprentice? Why were they talking about a wake?

Edward sighed. Joker, that insane clown, made the poor kid kill somebody already? He pulled up a block away from the museum and let the henchmen out. If they all went in together, someone would get suspicious. He parked the car in front of the museum and turned to Haley. "Haley, dear, we're here. You have to get off the phone now.

"Jack, I gotta go. Edward and I have to go do something and he's telling me to hang up the phone." She said into the speaker. She ended the call and looked at him expectantly, waiting for instruction.

"We just need to act like we are enjoying a day at an art museum. Just pretend I'm your uncle or something and act normal." He told her simply.

As they walked around the museum looking at different works, Haley also examined him. "You love this, don't you?"

"Hmm?" He asked as he looked over a nice piece.

"Acting normal. You get a chance to fool them entirely into thinking that you're just a regular guy because you're smarter than them." She pointed out.

He thought about what she said. She really was smart. He just smirked out of the corner of his mouth, loving this apprentice thing more and more with each second.

"Oh!" She exclaimed and ran over to a picture. He curiously followed her. She was admiring a painting of a chess game, presumably between a dark, and a light power. It appeared to the untrained eye that the dark power, presumably Satan, had the light power, presumably god, in checkmate.

"He still has one more move." She said, more to herself they anyone else. He examined it carefully, yes; 'God' did have one more move. "I like it." She said, turning it him.

"Well maybe you can have it…"

She thought about that. Stealing the paining would be weird. Where would she even keep it? She still wanted to get into a good college and if anyone found out…

Edward cut off her train of thought "If you can write a decent riddle for it."

She perked up at that. He was challenging her. "Is that challenge?" She asked while putting her hands on her hips. He just smirked down at her.

"Maybe."

"Challenge accepted." Wow, she really was a lot like him. He doubted that she would ever turn down an intellectual challenge.

She was quiet for a little while. "Does it have to be a question?" She asked.

He thought about it for a second. "No, it doesn't."

"Does it have to rhyme? I'm terrible at rhymes."

He smirked. "No, it doesn't."

"Can it just be a simple sentence that is so simple no one would guess it?"

"Why don't you just tell me what you have in mind, hmm?"

"Checkmate." She said simply. "I would send the word 'checkmate' if I were to write a riddle for this painting."

He paused. It was pretty good, for her first riddle. Everyone would over think it and wouldn't really suspect that it would literally be for a painting of a chess game.

"Good enough for now." He said simply. He looked at her out of the corner of his eye to catch her reaction. She smirked to herself at her job well done, probably not even caring if she got the prize because the recognition was enough. Just like him.

He checked his watch. "The museum is closing in twenty minutes. We should get going." He motioned to the two henchmen who were never out of eye sight that it was time to go and they slowly followed them outside.

"Which exhibit are we going after?" She asked him.

"The Word War II one." He had know the entire time that that was what he was going after, but he wanted to give Haley some experience.

"Oh. Nice." She said simply, not entirely caring. She was a little nervous to be stealing something, so she pushed the thought out of her head to deal with it when the time came.

They sat in silence and Edward dropped of the henchmen and drove them back to his apartment. "Um… can I have that surprise now?" She asked timidly.

He smirked. After all of that she remembered something he briefly covered. "Yes, yes." She went over and picked up a clothing box. "You costume came in."

Her eyes widened and she took the box from him. She examined it for a moment before closing her eyes and preparing herself to open it. He rolled his eyes. _Women and dramatics…_

"Why don't you go put it on and then come out here and show me?" He said. "There's no use just looking at it."

"Oh! Good idea." She rushed off to the bathroom and he sat down on the couch. He honestly couldn't wait to see her reaction to the costume. Personally, he liked it and he hoped she did to. He wouldn't have the time to have another one made for her.

She came out of the bathroom and stood in front of him while holding her arms in front of her shyly. She had to admit to herself though, she felt like strutting around because she looked good.

The costume consisted of a tight fitting, green, long sleeved shirt. Over that was a half vest that only really covered her breasts. It was a darker green then the shirt and was riddled (ha ha she made a funny) with yellow question marks. It had a purple breast pocket and black buttons. She was wearing a green short skirt with the same pattern as the vest. Dark green thigh high leggings covered her legs and a black and purple belt rested on her hips. She had color scheme matching bracelets on her wrists and a dark green choker necklace with a question mark charm. A purple domino mask rested on her face, covering her eyes with green film. To top it all off on her head rested a dark green bowler hat, much like the Riddler's, only hers had a yellow question mark.

"What do you think?" She asked him. "Because I love it."

He raised his eyebrows and smirked. "Lovely."

She smiled widely. "Good because I'm _not_ giving it up." She smiled and hugged herself. She walked over and sat next to him on the couch and he got to work on a word search.

"I can take you home after this." He said.

Haley dipped her head. "Um, Edward?"

"Hmm?"

"Would you mind if I stayed the night here? My dad just got a new job… he works the night shift at a convenience store, and I'll be home all alone." She looked at him with hopeful eyes.

He thought about it for a moment. It couldn't hurt, could it? He supposed it would help, if anything. He sighed, pretending that he really didn't care. "Alright."

She smiled at that. "Yay!"

He tossed her a Sudoku book and a pencil. "I assume you have your homework done for tomorrow?" He couldn't have his apprentice getting bad grades. What would that say about the Riddler legacy?

She paused and looked at him funny. "It's Friday, Edward."

He put his crossword down. "It is?" He had been sort of out of it all week… had one of his 'episodes' as the doctors at Arkham would call it. He had been shut up in the back room, working on a new death trap and thinking of rhyming words for the new heist. She took out her phone and showed him the date. "Huh, so it is."

"Are you alright Edward?" He didn't strike Haley as the kind of person who would lose track of the days.

"Yes, I'm fine. When you get tired there is a spare bed in the first door on the right, or you can just sleep here, whatever works. There's food in the kitchen." He instructed. He stood up and went to grab his notebook. He had to work out his riddle a bit more and now was a good time to do it. He sat in a chair near the couch and got to work. Haley turned on the small TV and was watching some random movie.

He finally put the notebook down and stretched once he could hear the movie credits playing. He turned to look at Haley and advise her to go to sleep only to find her out cold on the couch. Before he could think about it, he gave a genuine smile at the sight. Before he could stop himself he cleared a bit of hair out of her face and grabbed a blanket. He laid it over her and went to his own room. _That was weird. _He thought. But he had to admit, it was nice. And with that odd thought, he fell asleep.

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><p><strong>Whats this? A full chapter dedicated to the Riddler and Haley? I don't know about you but i love it. I know most of you have deemed Chanel and Emmy your favorites but I love Haley's relationship with the Riddler... well more like what there relation will be. And the painting i was talking about ^ I heard about that in church when i was really little. I'm not sure how i remember, i guess it spoke to me or something. <strong>

**Ok, this is a little warning for the future of this story. This story has become emotionally hard for my to write at times do to things i have went through. This concerns you because it will probably effect me writing and I apologize for that in advance. If any off this seems rushed and sloppy, thats why. **

**On that note i ask you to review! Please! I loves you! **


	13. Games and Movies

**oh my lanta! Sorry it took so long for this. Que wrote this chapter and she's been a bit distracted by her other story, Stalking Fear at the moment. Forgive us? Please? Eh, well anyway, here it is.**

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><p>Chapter 12<p>

Emmy giggled with delight as she rammed her bumper car into Jack's, and he skidded into the railing. "That's it Wonderland!" he growled trying to stir his green car. Emmy drove away with Chan at her side, whooping with laughter.

"He gonna getcha." she cackled as Jack rammed into her friend, the two of them slamming into Haley and Ever, who were trying not to get hit in pursuit of Chan. Ever glared and steered her car around the quickest Jack had ever seen one go.  
>"You know what Rofter? You just have a way of pushing a girl to her limit and now," she slammed into his car and he swerved around into the railing. "I'm pushing back!"<p>

Haley reared up behind Jack car with a wicked smirk."And this is for those annoying days of detention."

Jack yelped as he propelled forward into the platform where the ride engineer hailed. Chan and Emmy laughed as the other girls bullied the unlucky boy. What goes around comes around after all.

After a while the man operating the bumper car, nagged them about being too old for this and they all moved to the drive in movie outside. The five of them sat against the hood of a dark SUV, Chan by Emmy, Jack in the middle, then Haley, Ever at the end. Jack held a bag if buttered popcorn that he shared with Haley. The others all denied his offer, Emmy stating she wasn't allowed in the evening, Chan couldn't stand the smell let alone taste, munching a bag of M&M's instead, and Ever had ignored him when he asked. So Haley was the only normal popcorn lover he could share with.

He finished his hand of popcorn and reach in the bag for another when his hand touch something smooth and soft. He looked over to see that his and Haley's hands had met and they both blinked before retracting their hands. "Uh, guess the popcorn gone...I'll go get some more."

"Okay..." she said awkwardly as he got to his feet and went back into the arcade to the snack stand. He looked up at the menu for the prices and brought out his approximate cost. He waited a bit, since the cashier was in the back with a pair of earphones in his ears.

"Hey." he called to the slacking employee who turned to look at him with uninterested blue eyes. Then he looked again and a humor smile came to his lips as he took out the ear buds.

"Well if it isn't the Ripper." Jack raised an eyebrow peering at this young man who apparently knew him. After a second he recognized him as one of the jockizoids from the football team at a G.G. He also remembered him being in his last notorious prank. Pepper powder in their showers. Sweet, sweet laughter it had caused when the group of jocks ran into the gym butt-backed holding their peepers. But he was aware that this one was not very Moyer at the moment.

"Yeah...anyways can I have a refill on the popcorn?" Jack asked nonetheless. He was starting to learn from his mentor that not acknowledging the pain you caused a person when seeing them again, made things go smooth. The jock glared at him, but got a sneaky grin.

"Sure." he took a scoop of popcorn and dumped it on Jack's head. Jack blinked in disbelief ready to pound the shit out of the doof when butter topped his head next. "Forgot the butter." the yellow liquid stung the Ripper's eyes as he stumbled back. At that second the girls, noticing how long his absent was, were at the door to witness this.

"Ripper!" Chan exclaimed as her and the rest of them came to his side.

"What's wrong?" Emmy asked as Chan laid him back onto Haley's lap so she could check his eyes. Ever winced as he moaned but she didn't know how she should react. So she just sat there beside Haley. Emmy and Chan turned to the cashier enraged. It was then that Emmy recognized him as Trenton, a kid from her creative writing class.

"What the _Fuck_ did you do to him?"

"Called revenge, freak. I didn't know you brought your cult of freaks with you, Ripper. Gonna have your chicks fight your battles?" Jack growled along with Em and Chan who didn't take well to being called freaks. Haley and Ever snarled as they help Jack, who had stinging red eyes, up to his feet.  
>"Don't. Call. Us. Freaks." Chan warned in a dark menacing voice, none of the group had heard before.<p>

"Or else what? You psychos gonna have a break down?" somehow the five kids in front of him were emulating a maniacal presence that made him want to run. But from what? These freaks had never done anything violent besides carrot top and the plant wench. What harm could they do? "Huh, you gonna do a crazy cult thing to me?"  
>"Actually..." Haley hissed, baring her teeth. "We'll do something just like that!" she lunged forward and tackled him into the popcorn machine. He screamed like a girl as Chan and Ever appeared pinning his arms behind his back as Emmy stood him up so Jack could face him.<p>

"How bout we show you what we do? How does that sound, Trent?" Jack smiled at how the huge jock shook before he smashed his fists into the fucker's nose. Trent cried out as blood splattered onto Jack's shirt and down his wrists. It felt good to hit someone for a change. He'd always been the victim, getting bloody noses and split lips. From every piece of trash his mother had brought home from time to time tended to rub him the wrong way. But this now felt great.

Ever and Haley blinked at Jack's expression. He was smiling a crazy delirious grin. As if he was high. As if beating the shit out of someone was the greatest crack on earth. It was then that the girls realized that it had only taken a month working for The Joker for the teen to completely lose his moral marbles. In a way it was sort of sad. But also it was a thing to be accepted. It would happen to all of them soon enough.

Jack laughed a bit as he pulled back his arm for another punch, but a pair of hands caught his wrist. He turned to look at Haley, raising an eyebrow. She shook her head gesturing to the bloodied black and blue Trenton who had checked out of reality a second ago. Jack blinked, realizing what he had done to the kid. What the hell had gotten into him?

He took a step back and Emmy and Chan released the beaten jock who crumbled on the ground. The five of them all looked at each other silently as if taking an oath. Stay together and defend each other no matter what. The promise to help out everyone of their apprentice pack. After the shared agreement was made Jack called Harley to pick them up...

Jack walked into the apartment as quietly as he could. His mother was laying on the couch passed out on whatever she had brought home. He couldn't allow himself to keep up with her lists of poisons. It would only depress him further. She was already pale as a ghost and skinny as a stick despite the munchies. Her teeth were rotten and she couldn't smell a thing. And she was a stranger to him, living a dangerous life in which he could never imagine. He guessed in turn it was vice versa now, with his new occupation.

He sighed as he turned off the TV and headed to his room when he heard someone's painfully pitiful voice call to him. He turned around to see his mother sitting up now scratching her head. "Jacky, you're home." she yawned.

"Yeah, just got here."

"How was the arcade, you have fun?" Jack smiled faintly as he went to his bed.

"Yeah. We had a really nice conversation with an old friend." he answered. His mother smiled and rubbed her bagged dark eyes.

"Okay, good night."

"Night."

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><p><strong>Damn, looks like they are already changing. <strong>

**Probably more Haley in the next chapter. *looks around and whispers* I has a plan *_***

**Review please! **


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